Monday, June 23, 2008

Kismat Konnection --- Music Review


The much awaited music of the romantic flick of the season "Kismat Konnection" is out now and the music is no doubt going to sell like hot cakes in the coming weeks . The music of the film has been released quite late considering the release is on the 18th of July . Though this strategy or delay might prove fruitful to the Producers as the music is big part of any film's publicity and if it would be freshly on the minds of people the film is bound to do well . The soundtrack has Six originals and five remixes in total . The music is given by Pritam and he is on a roller-coaster these days . After giving chart busting music of Race which is still running high on charts he is back with Kismat Konnection .

The Track opens with the title track which is on air these days in the Trailer . The song is strangely titled "Aai Paapi" whose meaning I don't know . The album starts with the most commercially capable song . This song is no doubt going to be a big hit and has a great new feel to it . The song is well sung by Neeraj Shridhar who gets almost all the popular tracks these days . He has a specialty in Hindi-English fusion songs and these type of songs are in every album today . He delivers his goods along with Pritam who has given great music to this one . The lyrics are by Shabbir Ahmed who has probably given lyrics to all the songs with "commercial value" on this album . The English lyrics with Jamaican accent are really sung well and I don't know why the guy who sings those is not given space in the credits when they are such an important part of a song.

The second track on the album is "Bakhuda tumhi Ho" which is by Atif Aslam and Alka Yagnik . After "Pehli Nazar Mein" in Race Atif is back again in this track in the same old style in exquisite way . This song is very much different from the prior one and has Urdu lyrics in it which makes it even more close to Atif and is a perfect song for him . Atif is no doubt making his presence felt . The song has a very nice theme just like "Tumse Hi-Jab We Met" had and this one also has very good lyrics , probably the best in the entire album. Sayeed Quadri has done a great job on the Lyrics . There is a very beautiful use of Chorus in this song and Atif sings it in his typical high pitch voice with inputs in between by Alka Yagnik's sweet voice which makes this song even more Romantic and no doubt the song is gonna look very romantic in the film . I hope it is used at a good situation . The songs mainly focuses on the feelings of the Male protagonist in the film so it has very less for the girl in it hence this one mostly belongs to Atif .

The next song on the Album is Move Your Body by Shaan , Suheil , Hard Kaur and Akriti Kakkar . This is typical party track with hip hop "rhythm and poetry" ( i.e. RAP ) by Hard Kaur . This is one of those songs that grows slowly on repeated listening . Main singers are Shaan and Akriti . The song has all the commercial elements in it and now one more "Move Your Body" for Hard Kaur after her smash hit with same name in Johnny Gaddar . Hard Kaur is no doubt getting popular day by day and she now can be seen more often in albums . After long time a female singer has come who just enjoys music full on , like a tequila shot . Last one probably was Usha Uthup and Hard Kaur reminds me of her a lot .She is a sweet girl and I just love her and interestingly she is happy with whatever small part she gets to sing in a song . But that little part is quite strong . The lyrics of this one are by Shabbir Ahmed and he does a decent job with blending both Hindi and English lyrics properly . In all, the song would look great in the film combined with the even great moves of Shahid , people are surely gonna move their body .

The next track is by "Tumse Hi hai" fame Mohit Chauhan and is titled "Is this Love" while the prior became a huge hit this one has a similar feel yet it won't be as big hit as the first one was . Tumse Hi was a solo track while this has Shreya Ghoshal in it . Shreya sings perfect as usual and I am once again sure that this song would work even more after the movie gets released and people see it . The magic of Tumse Hi is missing yet this one is a great track and would definately strike a chord with the listeners . The use of Guitar is still there as it was in Tumse Hi and is more or less has been attempted in a similar fashion . The difference lies in the fact that this one is a duet . This one is no doubt "Tumse Hi Hai Part II" . The lyrics are again great in this one by Sayeed Quadri and he for sure has abundance of talent . Mohit Chauhan also gives his best and he sings it in his original style . He has an unheard voice and it will work for him in long run coupled with his singing talent . This song is another Hit .

The next song is composed by guest composer Saajid-Waajid of "Mujhse Shaadi Karogi" fame and is titled "Soniye Ve (Dhak Dhak)" and like "Is This love" is Tumse Hi Part II this one is part II of Mujhse Shaadi Karogi hit song "Aaja Soniye" with even the vocals by the same singers Sonu and Sunidhi . The song has almost same feeling and lyrics like Aaja Soniye had and again the magic of original was missing in this one . As the sequel of Sarkar lacked the soul of original , in a similar fashion the sequel of "aaja soniye" lacks the soul of the original . The lyrics are again by Shabbir Ahmed and even these lyrics have all the commercial elements in it . The music by Saajid-Waajid is almost the same and very little effort by them . Same applies to Sonu and Sunidhi , they've sung it just like the original . The track is good but below par than other songs on the album . This would work a little less than the others . Same old use of Punjabi Dhol and Tune .

After this comes another version of Move Your Body which is exact replica of the original one , just one singer has been changed . In this instead of Shaan its Adeel who sings his part . Adeel almost sings in similar fashion as Shaan and I don't know why the composer did this track considering its almost the same .

Then starts a series of Remixes all done by DJ Suketo . First one is the Remix of Bakhuda and it has been remixed well by him and has all the bass beats that are their in a remix . The next is the remix of Title track and is quite fast version of the original and this one would work well in the Discos . Then comes the remix of Move Your Body which is a little different from the original one in the sense that it has a little more of Hard Kaur in this one. This is a remix of the Shaan's Version . Then comes a remix of "Is This Love" which is more of a Lounge Mix since its a romantic and slow track . This one is also good . The last remix is again a faster version of Soniye Ve and has nothing new about it . All the Remixes have been done in typical fashion , nothing new in that department .

In all , the track is well prepared one and is worth a buy. This one is no doubt gonna climb the charts soon . The album has a nice blend of Romantic and Club songs which was the case even with the album of Jab We Met .The lyrical content is also good especially in case of Bakhuda Tumhi Ho and "Is this Love" . This one would also work like Jab We Met did . Pritam has done his job well and though nothing unusually new , yet its good stuff from him .

Album Rating : Three and Half Stars out of Five ; Gr8 music and even lyrics are gr8 in a few .

Top 3 Songs :

  1. Bakhuda Tumhi HO.
  2. Is This Love.
  3. Aayi Paapi (Title Track)

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Aamir --- Movie Review


Some films leave a question on your mind and provoke your thoughts , Aamir is one such film . Aamir is no doubt a brilliantly made film but what is even more brilliant is that it is very much relevant to the recent times and films like these are very much needed for the audience . But sad part is that a movie like Sarkar Raj overshadows such a brilliant movie and it doesn't work at the box-office . Whereas Sarkar Raj which is not so good film not only recovers the cost of production but also makes petty cash . It is so sad that shows of these type of cinema are very few in cinema halls because it doesn't have an Amitabh in it . A lot has been said that Indian Audience has matured a lot and that we now like only good cinema then why is that such movies don't work .

This film is a brilliant piece of cinema and is at par with International Standards in terms of film-making . I recently read on a Ticker on MTV that why is Aamir so overrated ? The reason is simple , until and unless it is rated exceedingly well , people don't even care to watch it . In fact , it is not at all over-rated . It is as I said a very well-made film and has no glitches in it .

The film is just one and half hour long but those one and half hour are very tight and nothing loose in it .The film is aptly long according to the story and this is one thing that Indian film makers need to learn from this Film . There is no unnecessary elongation of the film and this is what other film makers do , their story is very small yet they make a film which has to be over 2 hrs long .

The film is based completely on the lives of Muslims in general and how they are provoked and manipulated by some very sick people and these are those people that have damaged their community the most . Aamir has a similar theme like that of Black Friday which was made on the issue of Bombay Blasts . Black Friday was a different film in the sense that it was made on a real life incidence but the similarity lies in the message that both films send .

Amir is made on the life of Aamir Ali who is a London Return scholar and how some local mafia trap him and force him to act as a terrorist . Aamir is one of the progressive Muslims with modern thinking and he is trapped by a Muslim leader who kidnaps his family and blackmails him to act as he says . He then forces him to do some things or else he would kill his family . He at last tricks him to plant a Bomb in a bus and when Aamir realises this , his concience doesn't allow him to do so and seconds before the blast he takes away the bomb from the bus and dies along with it .

As you can see the story is not that big but the manner in which it has been presented is just fabulous . The locations of the entire film are of Mumbai itself but it seems as if they are of some undeveloped part of the nation . This is what the movie shows , the portions of the commercial capital of our country which are still undeveloped and have filthy living conditions . The cinematography is top notch and is very realistic . The background score is very interesting and matches to theme of the film . The Direction is the most strong part of the film apart from its screenplay and cinematography . The Director , Raj Kumar Gupta has written a good script and has very well executed it . There are no loose shots or unnecessary detailing which makes it a very well edited film .

Talking of acting , Rajeev Khandelwal is no doubt promising but there was not so much for him to do in this film . When the film is technically so sound then there is very little for an Actor to do , yet he delivers his best and he actually connects with the audience very well which is the most important thing for any actor . The role of a Modern Muslim suited him and he looked good in the film . The other actors also did well but the entire film is based on the central character Aamir so they don't get that much limelight . The other important character was that of a Prostitute which has been very well acted by Jhilmil Hazarika .

The tagline of the film is "Kaun Kehta hai ki aadmi apni kismat khud likhta hai " and the film very well portrays this line where a very well educated and settled man is trapped by some Local mafia for no good reason and he ends up losing his life . He comes to India to meet his family and ends up on the news channel as a terrorist .

Overall , the film is a must watch and if its still running in the theatres then go and watch the film in theatres to support the producers a little bit . Kudos to the producer Ronnie Screwvaala who dared to make such a film . UTV is no doubt today the best production house of our country which not only makes commercial cinema (unlike Yashraj )but also supports great films like Khosla Ka Ghosla and Aamir . I'll recommend this film to all the genuine cinema lovers out there , watch it and you'll love it . Films like these should be sent for Oscars and may be they can bring some glory for India , probably then people will start watching such films .

Movie Rating : Four Stars out of Five , for a good script , acting and Direction .

Friday, June 6, 2008

Sarkar Raj --- Movie Review


First Tashan and now Sarkar Raj , I don't know why prominent film makers are going back in time and making films like they used to be made years ago ? The sequel to Indian Godfather , Sarkar , is out in the theaters now and it seems to me that while Godfather 2 set parameters in terms of sequels , this one completely violates those . It is always said that one should not compare a sequel with the original one but if the sequel is not done well then comparisons are bound to happen . So here I go .

While Sarkar was a very tight film and quite brisk , this one has long emotional "speeches" and not dialogues , that go about very slowly in the film . The story is more or less the same , only the characters have been changed . And this is what Sarkar Raj lacks , a good storyline . Ramu recently gave an interview where he said that how much wrong he could go when he himself has created the characters in the original one which was a success . Well , here Ramu was wrong , he has not only gone competely wrong but also added nothing to the original movie , apart from so many characters that one tends to forget who is the central character .

Any film no doubt stands on the strength of its characters but if there are so many of them then it just becomes a circus where one by one animals come , do their act and then go . In Sarkar the negative characters were also played by some of the most power house performers like Kay Kay whereas in this one the negative characters were more of Jokers than actors . I seriously missed Kay Kay in the movie . Maybe Ramu has got a little afraid since Bachchans are the only one that trust him and he didn't want to offend them by making a stronger negative character that could overshadow them a little bit . Kay Kay is one such performer that can stand neck to neck with the Bachchans . If Sarkar or a Godfather doesn't have a challenger as powerful as he himself is then it is a no show all together . So , Ramu failed in that department .

Now talking a little about story , it starts with a leader of opposition wanting to get the seat of the CM and to get it plays a big game to defame Sarkar and his family in public . He along with an International company try to bring a Power Plant project into Maharashtra which involves displacing a lot of people of Village . The company is owned by Ash's father and she comes to India to head the project . The project is mainly situated in the hometown of Amitabh where he grew up and where his guru lives . Amitabh refuses it as it involves thousands of people's lives but Abhishek thinks of the future progress and convinces Amitabh to talk to his Guru , Rao-saab , back in the village about the project . Rao-saab has a grandson , Sanjay Somji , who is a local leader and quite a rebel . Amitabh and Abhishek convince Rao Saab and start their dream project for the progress of Maharashtra . But his grandson doesn't support them and starts a violent protest against them . Then starts the entire Political game in which Abhishek loses not only his wife , Avanti (Tanisha) , but also his unborn child and eventually his own life also . Then the old Sarkar comes back to full force and takes a revenge of the death of his son .

Talking again of Sarkar , it connected emotionally to an extent with the audience where it portrayed the struggle between a son and a father who have a different ideology . It also had Abhishek killing his own brother which was an excellently done scene by all the actors . Whereas Sarkar Raj doesn't connect with the audience at all just because of the plain simple fact that it just doesn't have those emotions in the script itself .The emotional scenes which are there in the movie are stereotype and they just don't appeal to the audience of today . Today nobody cares for long emotional speeches beacuse nobody has time for it . Today , everything has to be short and sweet , just like Twenty Twenty . And when cricketing fraternity has also understood it Ramu probaly hasn't . He has given Dialogues to Amitabh that he last would have delivered in the Mid Seventies holding the Temple Bells . Dialogue pe Dialogue , thats it . Whereas Sarkar had very few dialogues and more of Acting .

The Dialogues are so much in abundance that when Abhishek is on the deathbed then also Amitabh is delivering heavy weight dialogues to his son . Today's youth is not at all going to like it . The movie might work with the oldies and Die hard Amitabh fans , but not for me . One more thing that doesn't make sense to me is the Time Frame that Ramu has kept in his mind for Sarkar . Ramu always talks of realistic cinema , now tell me is it possible to have a person as strong as Sarkar in today's times when media is constantly up your asses ? Abhishek along with just Two men going out and killing 50 other armed people and coming back alive , is that realism ? How can he change all of a sudden from Realistic to a Larger than Life cinema lover ? Ramu accuses Karan Johar of portraying SRK larger than life in his films . Well , he himself has done the same with the Bachchans' in this one .

Leaving that aside and talking a little technical , the film has two and half hour long background with constant chants of Govinda that just doesn't stop till the film ends . The background score is very much inspired from Ramu's own films like Ab Tak 56 and Company . Ramu has himself taught Indian filmmkaers the importance of Background score through his films like Bhoot , Company and Darna Mana Hai . And now may be he has got a hang of himself and abusing it rather than using it wisely . His famous dark and documentry like cinematography is in this one also with a sepia touch . But the camera work is at times brilliant but most of the times quite annoying along with hammering background score . The entire film is focussed on Maharashtra and desn't talk in general . Ab Tak 56 did well specially in Maharastra circle because it had Nana in it . Ramu has tried to that formula again so that film works well at least in Maharashtra .

Now talking of acting , their is very little for Abhishek and Ash in it . Though the posters of the film just show Abhishek but he is in no manner the central character . Ramu wants to create an Amitabh out of Abhishek by portraying him as the new angry young man but one piece of advice for Ramu , times have changed and we don't need one more Amitabh , we already have seen one .
Just like SLB tried to portray a new Rishi in form of Ranbeer Kapoor in in Saawariya , RGV tries it on Abhishek . Ash has done her part well and she looks quite glamorous in the movie . Ramu lied on the fact that there is no romantic angle between Abhi and Ash . In fact , there is and probably ash wouldn't have signed the movie without it . An undercurrent of romance is in the entire film between Abhishek and Ash . Amitabh as I said earlier was in his vintage avatar giving emotional dialogues that he once used to give . The new guy Rajesh Shringapure (Somji ) has done a lot of over-acting and I don't expect much from him . Upendra Limaye has done his part well as Kantilal Vora , a true businessman .

Overall , the movie is quite slow since the story is not that long and it has just been dragged for two and half hours . The characters in this one didn't connect that well and the screenplay and direction was also not that good . Script was again weak as it is a regulation in Bollywood films these days . A die hard Amitabh or Abhishek fan might like it and there is a surprise for Ash's fan also . In totality , Ramu has tried to please all the three bachchans in the film . I expect a great film from a director like RGV after films like
Rangeela , Company , Bhoot , Satya and Sarkar under his belt but my expectations are denied . I hope he comes up with something new in Contract , his next film , which is suppose to be a trilogy ending the satya and company series . Stop making same old Crime Films and Horror films . Come out with something new , like a sci-fi or a love story , take a break .

Movie Rating : Two out of Five , loose script and direction .

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Love Story 2050 --- Music Review


The most expensive sci-fi flick of India , Love Story 2050 , is all set to release next month but the music is out now . The music is also quite techno friendly , I mean ,it has a lot of use technology i.e. computer generated sounds and variations that usually a DJ uses in his/her remixes . The Film is sort of comeback for lot of people after long time . The list includes Priyanka Chopra , Anu Malik and the Director Harry Baweja , all of whom last worked a long time ago .

Talking of the album , the First song on Soundtrack is "Milo Na Milo" which starts by a little dialogue between Priyanka and Harman . There is a lot of talk that Harman is a near copy of Hrithik Roshan in terms of Looks , Dance and Style . And I would like to add that he even talks like Hrithik and it felt to me that he is faking it , he really doesn't talk like that . His voice is also little childish like that of Jugal Hansraj and everybody knows what happened to him . Well , talking of the song , it is no doubt the best and the most balanced track of the album . I always use the word "balanced" because a nice balance of melody and lyrics only makes a track hit . And this track would no doubt be the most popular track on the album . Anu does a fabulous job in this track making it quite sci-fi in sound also . Apart from music director people forget the job of Arranger and Tubby-Pari here have done a great job . The lyrics are also good as usual from Javed Akhtar and the the song is well sung by Shaan .

The Next track on the album is Meelon Ka which is a very melodious track and is slower from the first one . Anu Malik has got a good melody for this one and it is much like the track from Jaan-e-mann - Humko Maalum Hai . Anu has once again made use of the western symphonies to make a good track and you can distinctly see similarities between this track and humko maalum hai . Though Humko Maalum Hai was a big hit , this one might not get that popular but might look good in the movie . It also has shades of Ajnabi Shahar from Jaan-e-mann which again was a brilliant track . This one is sung by Kay Kay and interestingly sonu is missing from the entire album . Though Kay Kay is a fabulous singer and has done great job on this one but still he is not as good as Sonu . Probably , Sonu might have sung this one even better . Alka Yagnik has also done a good job and the Lyrics are also good but not exceptional .

The third track on the Album is the Title Track "Love Story" and it also has little dialogues in the starting by Harman and Priyanka and Harman again sounded like a kid . The melody on this track sounds like it has been lifted from some other song from past , it doesn't sound new . This song is not as good as a title track should be and won't get that popular but it is also not that bad and would suit in a romantic situation in the movie . Lyrics are fine and it has been well sung by Shaan .

The fourth track again starts with the childish sound of Harman Baweja . "Sach Kehna" is sung by Kunal Ganjawala who had last given a great track with Anu which made him an instant hit - Bheege Honth in Murder . This one is total opposite of that track and has nothing for Kunal in it . Typical commercial track with some latin tunes in it and nothing new about it , just a little more bass .

The Fifth track , thank god , doesn't start with a childish voice and has only priyanka in it . "Lover Boy" is sung by Alisha Chinoy and its tune is again picked up from somewhere and it has vintage Alisha in it . This one sounds like some track of Alisha's album of the early Ninety's that never got released . It also has a tune pretty much similar to Mortal Combat tune just a little bit slower . The track is below average since Alisha has sung some great songs recently like Kajrare and Dil Ko Hazaar Baar (Murder) . Typical Anu Malik track with no lyrics and no melody .

The Child is back again in the Sixth track , I mean Harman who again talks like a small kid in the beginning . "Mausam Achanak" is a softer track and has good lyrics in it . The music is also average and nothing exceptional . But the track sounds good and has some good singing by Shaan and Alka . Alka Yagnik's all songs sound similar . I am sure the video of this song would feature some beautiful cinematography and VFX in it . So , the song would look even beautiful if it will have some good cinematography and visual effects (VFX) in it .

The last original track on the album is Aa Gaya Hun Mein by Kay Kay which again has vintage Anu Malik in it and same old tune with just some extra bass beats to give it a disco feel . The lyrics are nothing to take notice of and Kay Kay has done usual stuff .
This one also has nothing new and Anu fell short in this one also .

Then there are two slower versions of Love Story and Meelon Ka which are as good as the original ones . These are the two tracks(original ones) that are pic of the lot and the Third being Milo Na Milo .

Top 3 Tracks :

  1. Milo Na Milo .
  2. Meelon Ka .
  3. Love Story .
Overall , the album is Fifty-Fifty i.e. it has equal no. of Good and Bad tracks . Though the Bad Tracks are not that bad hence this album gets a little higher rating and Anu Malik has tried his best and this is what he could get . But I must say that Pritam has taken his place of Lifting songs quite well and poor Anu has no other option than going a "little" original . The album is not a classic one and only Milo na Milo would be remembered over a long period of time . It would sound good in a Multiplex with high quality sound system . I hope Harman acts a little mature according to his voice and Harry Baweja , the Director , doesn't try to become Rakesh Roshan in his direction .

Album Rating : Three out of Five , for its good commercial value .